Tag Archives: Luke Heggie

Luke Heggie cuts right to it. He came out on stage and instantly got to work. Which to be honest, felt a bit rehearsed. I walked in just before the show started so seat space was limited in the small upstairs room in the Basement Theatre, so I was thankful to find seats in the second row. I had figured that Luke would be the comedian to single out people sitting in the front, but was disappointed to find out he barely interacts with his audience. There was even a moment a group of guys came in late – Luke quickly invited them in and and told them it wasn’t one of those shows where they’d be roasted. Fair enough I guess, but then one of the late comers tripped up the stairs and made a ruckus. Everyone waited for the joke and it never came.

Towards the middle of the show, Luke started making jokes about his kids – which the 50-60 year old in front of me loved. For me, it was the predictable observations that most parents have when they have children. I may have laughed more at the man’s reaction in front of me than to the joke itself.

There was a ukulele sitting on stage all night, which Luke didn’t touch until the last 5 minutes of the show. My advice to him would be to leave it off stage because the joke didn’t land he doesn’t have any rhythm.

I’m not saying I didn’t laugh, but I couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed when I left the show. 3/5

It’s that special time of year when comedians from across the globe descend upon our great land for the NZ International Comedy Festival. Like the years that have passed, this one is no different; there’s a plethora of great comedians to choose from. To help you out, we’ve listed some of our top picks below.

Lyrical tales from the road mixed with iffy wordplay and first-rate bullsh*t. Alexis has been seen on Comedy Central At The Comedy Store, Set List, The John Bishop Show, Ricky Gervais’ Derek and Red Dwarf.

Looking to check out some international talent but don’t know where to start? May we introduce Edinburgh Fringe heros, Lauren Pattison, Fin Taylor, Phil Wang and Ian Smith from the UK, all packaged together as part of the Big (two hour) show.

After completing a phenomenal 100 date sell-out 2017/2018 tour and becoming the first Asian stand-up to play a sold-out show at London’s Wembley Arena, comedy powerhouse and star of Taskmaster, Live at The Apollo and Stand Up for the Week, Paul Chowdhry will be coming to New Zealand. Hurry, this will sell out!

Love him or hate him, he’s back for another year. Billy T Award winner David Correos has developed a reputation for delivering a maelstrom of comedy that has seen him get five star reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe. This is full noise, powerful, messy comedy; defying genre and labels. Sometimes it’s paint, sometimes cinnamon, could be a bread knife – it’s hysterical nonsense.

Australian comedian Luke Heggie returns to New Zealand with his signature style of deadpan comedy. After setting off around the world in search of adventure, he finds a bunch of selfish tip rats in hostels, hell bent on smelling like wet animals, stealing food and getting rat-faced. His show, Bush Week, is about life, travel and well, all the ‘dickheads he’s met’. Make sure you don’t miss it!

Describe your NZICF 14 show in three words or less…

Dickheads I’ve met.

Why should we come to your show over someone else’s?

Because you’ll be wanting to see a show just after you’ve finished your really early dinner, and you’ll be seeking out a show with a little bit of something for everyone – provided everyone is just like me.

Are you serious? I’m years away from being allowed to make outrageous demands.

Do you have any pre-show rituals?

I like to relax a bit. I stop signing autographs at least 30 seconds before I go on stage.

Do you have a joke that never fails?

No. The only people who have a fail safe joke are famous and/or liars.

Word Association:

Comedy People falling over

New Zealand The best

Selfie Shutup

Royals Lorde

Cats Swinging

Celebrity Guns ‘n’ ammo

Australian comedian Luke Heggie performs his show BUSH WEEK (AKL 25 & 26, 29 April – 3 May & WLG 6 – 10 May) as part of the 2014 NZ International Comedy Festival in cahoots with Old Mout Cider 24 April – 18 May. For more info visit www.comedyfestival.co.nz.

Last night I had the pleasure of seeing not one but two shows as part of the opening night of the NZ International Comedy Festival. Now in its 21st year (Happy Birthday NZICF), the festival boasts a stellar line up of both local and international acts. I got a taste of the UK and Australia with Chris Martin’s Spot the Difference and Luke Heggie’s Mega Dry.

Chris is exactly the kind of guy you would want at your party; he’s charming, he’s funny and he’s totally inoffensive. Coming out on stage with a teapot and an over-sized notepad, he started off by telling us what he likes about Auckland before launching into his complaints.

His complaints? The fact that we don’t have enough Sushi places in Auckland, just about one every second building. Who needs a sushi train; we have a human conveyor belt going on in this city. And then there’s the (Manuka) honey, it’s in just about everything (but the sushi) and it makes everything 9x more expensive!

We spent the hour getting to know Chris, his mother’s obsessions with Chinese takeaway containers (yes Chris, you will thank her for saving them when you finally open your own Chinese takeaway) and his own obsession with killing and being attacked. We also found out his reason for getting a girlfriend (everyone needs a long-term alibi) and what he would say and do if he was ever attacked in bed – did I mention his obsession with killing and attacking?

Like all good comedians in this day-and-age, Chris also talked about the recession and even had a few graphs for us – apparently it IS normal to measure things in distance.

Chris will be performing at The Classic for the rest of the week before he heads to Wellington. I definitely recommend you make the time to check him out, he connects well with his audience even when they’re caught writing notes during his show or giving him live feedback (yes, it all went down last night).

Following Chris’s charming display of anecdotal humor, we headed down to an even more intimate setting at Brooklyn Bar for Luke Heggie’s Mega Dry. Now Heggie’s an interesting character, take it or leave it, he doesn’t really give a sh*t, he’s there to tell his jokes anyway.

Luke’s show is centered on his job at a bottle shop and the characters he came across – if it weren’t for the customers, it would have been a great job! He also throws in some dad jokes, and has great advice for avoiding mosquitoes – if you don’t want to be bitten by one, share a room with a baby… they love babies.

His deadpan delivery makes his show that much funnier and I can see why Time Out Magazine named him ‘Sydney’s Best Comedian’ last year.

As a parting shot, Luke reminds you “when you go into a shop don’t be such a fu*king prat.” You can catch Luke from Tuesday right through until Saturday at the Brooklyn Bar and Lounge.

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